


Guardian

by LazarusII



Series: Tron One-Shots [3]
Category: Tron (Movies), Tron - All Media Types
Genre: Alan is an Amazing Friend, Angst?, Family Feels, Flynn is a Good Father, Foreshadowing, Gen, Yeah HQ Fic Exchange, tragic end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25474780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusII/pseuds/LazarusII
Summary: With the events of Tron: Legacy looming in the near future, Kevin Flynn, Sam, and Alan go for dinner.
Relationships: Alan Bradley & Kevin Flynn, Alan Bradley & Sam Flynn, Kevin Flynn & Sam Flynn
Series: Tron One-Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1757335
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16





	Guardian

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lobster_emoji](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lobster_emoji/gifts).



> Alright--alright, let me explain!  
> Lobster, I totally misread the given prompts and came up with this fic before I realized that, I had--in fact--/messed up/. I'm just going to leave this fic in your gifts anyways! I hope you still like it even thought it was a bit of an angst dumpsterfire until this morning (and an incorrect prompt reading but asdfhjk). 
> 
> Did I de-age Sam a bit from where we see him in the beginning of Legacy? Yep! No shame here, but it felt right in this context.  
> Hope you enjoy!

Kevin Flynn sighed, and leaned back against the darkened cushions of the restaurant’s booth seat. Closing his eyes, he let out several slow breaths, feeling fatigue sink into his bones. 

It had been a long past few days--well, _nights_ too. 

One week had passed since the Grid _really_ started eating into his spare time. Errors plagued the whole system, eating into even the most stable of areas in the Grid. Clu was on the hunt--and Tron… 

But that was only half of the picture. 

Kevin felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he thought of the growing mountain of paperwork waiting for him in his Encom office. The company was demanding enough _without_ the ruthless hounding of the board members. 

Stocks here, more money there, shareholders and power everywhere. 

They saw only numbers. 

Only a precious few remained loyal to Kevin’s cause. And though he valued their support, allying with _him_ \--the CEO of all people--was becoming an increasingly slippery slope.

Kevin rubbed the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Maybe it had been those damned hags on the board which had driven him to create the new Grid in the first place. 

A fog descended over his mind. 

_God, I’m tired_ , he thought. 

A waitress set down a glass of water in front of him with a soft _clink_. He blinked up at the woman, nodding in thanks. She smiled back at him. 

For a moment, he wondered if she recognized him. It was possible, the image of Kevin Flynn wasn’t exactly ‘low profile.’ 

The woman turned away and he almost sighed with relief. 

In truth, it was unlikely that _anyone_ would recognize him at this point--at least anyone who wasn’t of acquaintance. After all, who’d recognize the CEO of Encom in a leather jacket and jeans, and in dire need of a shave? 

Kevin sipped at the water and winced. The water helped wake him up, that was for sure, but ice nearly froze his teeth off. 

Nursing a brain freeze, he set down the glass gingerly, stifling a curse as his forehead throbbed. 

“Hmm, you look like hell.” 

Kevin snorted and rolled his eyes. 

“Nice to see you too, Alan.” He replied sarcastically. “Anything Earth-shattering happen while I was stuck babysitting the stockholders?” 

Alan slid into the seat across from him, folding his tan leather jacket and tucking it neatly between himself and the wall. He was still dressed in his work clothes: a light blue collared shirt and slacks. 

Shifting, Alan quickly cleaned off his glasses with a small handkerchief.

“Ah, nothing much,” the man replied. He pulled one of the menus from where they stood at the end of the table. 

“Mostly the same as usual. Sam insisted on riding his bike to my place, though,” he shot Kevin a sly grin. 

Kevin gave his friend a pointed look. 

Raising his hands defensively, Alan laughed, freshly-cleaned glasses reflecting the bright restaurant lights as he moved. 

“Don’t worry. I checked the distance and all--almost three miles to the dot. Besides, I made sure to stop at the curb every so often--” 

Kevin waved him off with a laugh, “it’s okay, man. I trust you with Sam. Thank you for watching him after school today. Speaking of Sam…” He squinted, peering around the restaurant. 

“Where is the kid?” 

“Bathroom.” Alan hummed, a finger sliding down the menu’s options. 

Huffing, Kevin glanced half-heartedly at his menu and silently decided on a soup and salad. He wasn’t _that_ hungry… 

He and Alan fell into a comfortable silence. 

In the early years of their friendship, he and Alan had done nothing but bicker, punctuating every silence with looks of irritation and sometimes anger--mostly on Alan’s side. Nearly all of their meetings had involved a heavy amount of mediation on Lora’s part, but she’d always been more than willing to do it. That had been the dynamic--their _normal_. 

Then Jordan happened, temporarily creating distance between Kevin and the others, only to draw them closer in her passing. 

Lora had been there for Kevin when he most needed support, and Alan had surprisingly followed her lead. For several years, that was how they’d functioned. 

But now Lora was in DC, and Alan was truly a part of Kevin’s family, helping watch over Sam. And, though Alan would never admit it out loud very often, Kevin knew that he missed Lora _terribly_. That much was reflected in how attached he’d become to the kid.

Kevin laid his menu on the table and mentally went through a checklist of things he had to do on the Grid. 

_Stabilize Bismuth._

_Expand the upper levels of Tron City._

_Help speed repairs on damaged portions of the Grid._

_Look more into what happened to the Sea of Simulation…_

A thread of doubt nagged at the corner of his mind. 

Last he’d checked in, Tron and Clu had been practically at each other's throats over the ISO controversy. 

Kevin’s gaze rested on Alan. The man was absently staring out the window, tapping his fingers lightly against the plastic tabletop. 

When Kevin had last seen that face, it had been lined with fatigue, stress, and worry. 

Tron. 

The monitor had been deeply troubled, and likely still was. 

_I hope it's nothing, Tron_ , Kevin thought, _but…_

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam came crashing in. The boy launched himself into the booth, arms wrapping tightly around his father. 

Grunting, Kevin hugged the kid before passing over the menu. 

In the presence of his son, there was no need to force a smile onto his face--it came of its own accord. The boy was a ball of energy, and his current enthusiasm was contagious. The ball of anxiety which had formed in his chest throughout the day, began to unwind.

“How was today, kiddo?” Kevin ruffled the boy’s hair. 

Sam looked up at him excitedly, practically bouncing out of his seat. “I got an ‘A’ on the math test this morning _and_ Uncle Alan let me ride all the way back to his place.” 

“Rad, man! That already sounds great!” Kevin chose to ignore the part about biking to Alan’s, and offered a high-five. Sam nearly missed as he energetically went for the hand. 

“What was the test on?” Kevin asked. 

Alan caught his eye and gave him a thumbs-up. 

Sam spun the menu on the table with a finger, still bouncing on the booth’s cushion. “Multiplication--the hard stuff though! Mrs. Michael told me that I’m the only one in the class that got a full one-hundred!”

“Keep up the good work, Sam,” Alan leaned forward on his elbows. “Remember our deal.” 

The man grinned and Kevin raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Sam clapped his hands together. “Alan said that if I get another A, that he’ll get me ice cream.” 

Mock gasping, Kevin clapped a hand to his chest. “ _No_ \--Alan how could you spoil him like that?”

Alan and Sam high-fived loudly across the table. 

The meal was quite relaxed. Alan continued to be his usual self, Sam was still practically jumping off the walls with excitement, and Kevin--well, he was having more fun than he’d had in quite some time. 

With everything going on, he hadn’t had the opportunity to spend much time with Sam. And with Alan’s presence--

It was nice. 

They felt like a _family_. 

* * *

When Kevin stepped out of the diner, he was greeted by the cool night air. Looking upwards, he saw stars glittering in the heavens, small specks of light painted against an ever-darkening sky. 

It was getting late. 

Behind him, the door swung open with a soft tinkle of bells. Alan and Sam were deep in conversation about ice cream--of all things. Their voices carried in the quiet parking lot. 

In his mind, Kevin pictured the Grid. He could see it already--the obsidian-esque buildings and illuminated highways… 

Clu. 

Tron. 

Suddenly, his heart felt heavy and a great weight seemed to had landed itself right above his diaphragm, choking him. 

“Hey Sam, you wanna grab your bike from Alan’s car?” He called over to the boy. 

The other two stared at him for a moment. Shrugging, Alan fumbled for his keys in his jacket pocket and walked over to where he’d parked, Sam in tow. 

Hands in his pockets, Kevin followed several paces behind them. 

_I promised Tron that I’d check in tonight_. 

Exhaustion bit deep into his body, slowly weighing Kevin down to the bones. _But how can I? I’ve been working flat out since five o’clock this morning…_

“You alright?” Alan’s hand dropped onto his shoulder, squeezing for a moment before falling away. 

Heaving a sigh, Kevin turned to look at his friend, not even trying to hide the fatigue on his face. 

“Yeah, man.” He hesitated and leaned his head back again. 

The stars were still there, twinkling. 

There were no stars on the Grid. 

Mentally, Kevin tried to shake off the uneasiness. He failed. 

Sam’s backside was sticking out the trunk of Alan’s car. The boy was fighting to remove his bike from where it had become wedged between the seats. Kevin could hear him grumbling, and suddenly felt the sense of apprehension double. 

“Alan--” he began slowly. 

“Hm?” 

He looked back at the man, suddenly unsure of what to say. 

“If… anything happens to me, keep an eye on Sam, will you?”

Glancing down, Alan shoved his hands in his pockets and chuckled. 

“You know I’d do anything for the kid, right?” 

An unexplainable wave of relief washed over Kevin and he gave his friend a light punch on the arm. 

“Thanks man.” He cleared his throat, pushing back against the emotion which he could feel rising there. “It means a lot.” 

Alan nodded, and gave Kevin a searching look. It was as though the man could see right through him, and could sense exactly what he was feeling… 

So when Alan replied with, “always,” Kevin knew that he was being sincere.

* * *

  
  


_Kevin looked up into the dark skies and saw only rolling, black clouds. It was always dark on the Grid, storming or raining…_

_He’d lost everything._

_Tron, the ISOs, the Grid… and his way home._

_Rain began to patter softly against his face._

_He pictured Sam’s face, laughing as he chatted with Alan about ice cream and bicycles._

_It hurt him like a knife, twisting deep into his heart._

_There was no going back this time._

_The only hope he could cling to now was the knowledge that Sam would be cared for, that he had someone who loved him._

_The boy had his grandparents. And he had Alan._

_Kevin’s mind went back to the conversation that night outside the diner. Alan’s words meant so much more now than they ever had._

_“Thank you,” Kevin whispered into the night._

  
  


_Thank you._

Fin.


End file.
